Baines was educated at Holt Comprehensive School in Liverpool from 1969 to 1976 before studying at the University of Bradford, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in German and French in 1980.

[8] He then moved to Leicester, serving briefly as associate minister of Holy Trinity Church before becoming vicar of Rothley (1992–2000), during which time he was also chaplain to an adult mental health unit.

[11] In 2011 Baines said that "Christians should learn from Muslims how to exist as a 'minority' culture in British cities that are increasingly dominated by immigrant communities".

In 2022, in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Baines suggested that the Ukrainian military should cease fighting and entertain the prospect of the Crimea and the eastern Donbas region being annexed by Russia in order to achieve peace.

While conceding that the long-term goal should be for Ukraine to control all its territory, Baines suggested that this might be achieved through diplomacy and easing sanctions.